如果你足夠幸運(yùn)，在2015年底獲得一筆獎(jiǎng)金，或者收到一筆退稅款，你可能正在思考把錢放在什么地方合適。對(duì)于新一年的投資對(duì)象，你也許有許多考慮，但為什么不把自己也看做是投資對(duì)象呢？

在你自己身上、你的收入潛力和幸福感上投資至少1000美元，這會(huì)有多很多好處。

首先是增加投資的多元化。作家布萊恩?富蘭克林表示：“投資一些你自己可以控制的事情，總是更安全的?！笔堑?，想想看，你也許很難改變新興市場(chǎng)上一只交易基金的績(jī)效，但對(duì)于你能否能夠得到加薪，你卻可以施加巨大的影響力。

其次，回報(bào)是巨大的。富蘭克林稱：“如果你給自己投資，努力提高你對(duì)其他人、社區(qū)和家庭的價(jià)值，你就可以切實(shí)改變你的未來(lái)或者人生處境?！?/p>

那么，怎么投資才能帶來(lái)最大的潛在回報(bào)呢？以下這些值得考慮：

投資超級(jí)技能。日常工作技能很重要，但你每天已經(jīng)對(duì)這些技能進(jìn)行了大量的練習(xí)。而某些超級(jí)技能，卻可以給你帶來(lái)不同等級(jí)的價(jià)值。如果一位優(yōu)秀的律師具備出色的演講能力，那么他給一家律師事務(wù)所帶來(lái)的價(jià)值，將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)同樣優(yōu)秀但不具備這種能力的律師。同樣，富蘭克林表示，在任何情況下，以書(shū)面方式表達(dá)想法的能力都非常有用，因?yàn)檫@些錦繡文章可以讓你變成思想領(lǐng)袖。

有些技能之間的聯(lián)系可能并不明顯。富蘭克林表示：“如果你的工作或者工作環(huán)境鼓勵(lì)創(chuàng)造力，可以去上藝術(shù)課——當(dāng)然不是去學(xué)如何畫(huà)畫(huà)，而是學(xué)習(xí)如何挖掘自身的創(chuàng)造力，這是培養(yǎng)創(chuàng)造性超級(jí)技能的一個(gè)例子?！?/p>

所以，了解你的行業(yè)最重視什么（提示：最有可能的是銷售、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力和人際關(guān)系），然后投資對(duì)你有益的輔導(dǎo)或課程。

投資對(duì)你所敬佩的人最有價(jià)值的事情。如果你有一位商業(yè)導(dǎo)師，你可以在她最熱心參與的公益事業(yè)中擔(dān)任志愿者（并且進(jìn)行捐助）。這樣你便有更多時(shí)間與她相處，進(jìn)而鞏固彼此的關(guān)系——僅僅去找她尋求建議，是無(wú)法培養(yǎng)起這種關(guān)系的。或者，如果一位你特別看重的職場(chǎng)熟人正在解決一個(gè)重要的問(wèn)題，你可以組織一個(gè)小型聚會(huì)，集思廣益幫他尋找解決方案。人際關(guān)系會(huì)帶來(lái)許多好處，但與任何其他投資一樣，想要獲取回報(bào)，你必須有所投入。

投資聚會(huì)。人脈異常寶貴，增強(qiáng)人脈關(guān)系，可以提高他們對(duì)你的價(jià)值。如果你介紹兩個(gè)決定一起共事的人互相認(rèn)識(shí)，他們未來(lái)都會(huì)樂(lè)意幫助你。此外，作為主人或發(fā)起人，你很有機(jī)會(huì)成為這個(gè)圈子的領(lǐng)袖。富蘭克林說(shuō)道：“作為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，你身后的其他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者會(huì)聯(lián)合起來(lái)，幫助你獲得勝利?！?/p>

所以，開(kāi)派對(duì)吧?；蛘呓M織一個(gè)策劃小組。召集一群有趣的人在你的家中開(kāi)派對(duì)，出錢給他們購(gòu)買零食和飲料。如果這筆投入能夠幫你找到一位新客戶，那么它帶來(lái)的收益將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)股市。

投資薄弱環(huán)節(jié)。富蘭克林認(rèn)為，首先投資于你最薄弱的環(huán)節(jié)，永遠(yuǎn)是明智的選擇。他建議問(wèn)這樣一個(gè)問(wèn)題：“什么樣的投資有助于增加我已經(jīng)進(jìn)行的其他投資的價(jià)值？”

如果你的談判技能已經(jīng)大有長(zhǎng)進(jìn)，正在建立一個(gè)卓越的人脈網(wǎng)絡(luò)，但你卻有長(zhǎng)期的睡眠障礙，那么你將來(lái)就沒(méi)有足夠的精力去摘取勝利果實(shí)。所以不妨買一臺(tái)睡眠跟蹤器，白噪聲播放器，或者對(duì)臥室進(jìn)行隔音處理，隔絕鄰家寵物狗的叫聲。一身好的行頭，可以讓人們更加嚴(yán)肅地對(duì)待你的想法，所以聘請(qǐng)一位造型師幫你看起來(lái)更聰明?；蛘?，如果你所在領(lǐng)域的精英都會(huì)雙語(yǔ)交流，而你卻不會(huì)，解決辦法就是聘用一位外語(yǔ)家庭教師。

以金錢換取時(shí)間和專注。富蘭克林表示：“不受干擾的專注，是最強(qiáng)大的資源之一?！彼a(bǔ)充道，如果你能保持精力集中，“你的工作效率將大幅提升?！比绻恐軐和泄艿臅r(shí)間額外延長(zhǎng)一到兩個(gè)小時(shí)，可以幫助你在工作時(shí)更加放松，這也是一筆不錯(cuò)的投資。將家務(wù)事外包也是如此，因?yàn)檫@些雜事是消極情緒的主要來(lái)源。

投資良好的健康也可以增加活力，因此做做按摩或享用健康的飲食，都是不錯(cuò)的選擇。但富蘭克林表示，要注意：“如果你沒(méi)有跑步的決心，買一雙跑鞋沒(méi)什么用?！?/p>

是的，如果你打算讓生活發(fā)生一些改變，1000美元的確可以帶來(lái)巨大的幫助。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者: 劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

審校：任文科

If you were lucky enough to get a bonus at the end of 2015, or if you’ve got a tax refund coming, you may be hunting around for the right place to put your cash. Fortune’s got plenty of tips on where to invest in 2016, but why not throw yourself into the mix?

Committing to investing at least $1000 in yourself, your earning potential, and your happiness has several upsides. First, there’s diversification. “It’s always safer to have something under your control,” says Bryan Franklin, co-author with Michael Ellsberg of the new book, The Last Safe Investment: Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever. You can’t do much to alter the performance of an emerging market ETF, but you can have a lot of impact on whether you score a raise.

Second, the returns can be vast. “If you invest in yourself and in your value to other people and your community and your tribe, you can actually change your possibility or position in life,” says Franklin.

Here are some investment approaches with the biggest potential returns.

Invest in developing super-skills. Everyday job skills are great, but you get plenty of practice at those already. Certain super-skills, on the other hand, launch you into a different level of value. A great lawyer who can speak well in public offers disproportionately more value to a firm than an equally great lawyer who can’t. Likewise, being able to convey ideas in writing is useful in any context, Franklin says, as published articles turn you into a thought leader.

The connection doesn’t have to be obvious. “If you’re in a job or work environment where creativity is rewarded, taking an art class—not to learn how to paint but to learn how to access your own creativity—would be an example of a creative super-skill,” says Franklin.

So see what’s most valued in your industry (hint: sales, leadership, and connecting are high in most) and invest in coaching or courses to help.

Invest in what’s valuable to people you admire. If you’ve got a business mentor, volunteer with (and donate to) the non-profit she cares most passionately about. You’ll spend time with her and cement the relationship in a way that’s not just about you pestering her for advice. Or if a valued professional acquaintance is grappling with an important issue, organize a small retreat to brainstorm solutions. Relationships pay off in many ways, but like any other investment, you have to put in capital to get returns.

Invest in gathering people together. Networks are valuable, and tightening these ties raises their value to you. When you introduce two people who decide to work together, they both want to help you in the future. Also, being a host or convener can help you be seen as a leader in your community. “Other leaders align behind leaders to help them win,” Franklin says.

So throw parties. Or organize a mastermind group. If buying snacks and drinks for a group of interesting people you convene at your home leads to you landing a new client, that would massively trump the yield on the S&P.

Invest in shoring up weak spots. It’s always wise to focus first on investing in areas where you’re weakest, Franklin says. He suggests asking, “Which investment is going to enhance the value of all the other investments I’m already making?”

If you’ve polished your negotiating skills, and you’re building a great network, but you’re chronically sleep deprived, you’ll have limited energy for seizing on victories. So buy the sleep tracker, the white noise machine, or soundproof your bedroom to block out your neighbor’s dog. A great wardrobe could make people take your great ideas more seriously, so hire a stylist to help you look smart. Or if the fastest rising people in your field are all bilingual and you’re not, a language tutor is the way to go.

Invest in buying time and focus. “One of the most powerful resources we have is our free attention,” says Franklin. When you can focus, he adds, “the quality of what you can bring to the things you do goes way up.” If an extra hour or two of childcare per week would help you feel more relaxed at work, that would be a good investment. So would outsourcing household chores or errands that have become major sources of negativity.

Investing in good health can likewise increase your energy, which makes massages or healthy meals good options too. Just be careful: “It does no good to buy a pair of running shoes without the accompanying commitment to running,” Franklin says.

But, if you commit to making changes in your life, $1,000 can go a long way.